No title yet...
by RoseTheShrubber
Summary: chapter 3 is FINALLY up! R&R no flames!
1. Chapter 1

Untitled

**Untitled**

It had been a year to the day since the death of Cedric and the students of Hogwarts were sitting around their house tables in the Great Hall. They were having a three-minute silence in honour of him.

Harry tried not to think of the previous years' events but it was no good and, to his horror, his face started to burn up and the corners of his eyes stung as they filled up with tears. He partly still blamed himself for Cedric's death, although he knew nobody was to blame. Harry blinked and tried to wipe his eyes without anyone noticing. He glanced sideways and saw Hermione with tears rolling down her cheeks. She caught sight of Harry and stared down at the table.

The silence ended and food appeared in front of the students but no one felt like eating and the Hall remained very quiet.

A lot had happened that year since Cedric's death. No one had seen nor heard of Voldemort, but that worried people because they suspected he was planning something extremely dangerous. So, in this case, no news was bad news. There had been some good news. Hermione and Ron had started going out. Of course, Malfoy had a fair few comments to throw at them, as usual, but within a few weeks, everyone had become bored of teasing them and sneering at them and everything seemed almost normal again. Or, at least, as normal as it could get when you were at Hogwarts

***

Harry, Hermione and Ron were all sat round their usual table in the far corner of the Gryffindor common room. Everyone else had gone to bed.

There were pieces of fruit scattered across their table (Hermione was trying to teach them the animation charm they had to learn for homework, they still hadn't quite grasped it) 

"How about this, then?" said Ron, as he flicked his wand at the fruit, the slice of apple tipped up onto its end.

"Look! It's work- Oh…" The fruit flopped miserably back down onto the table, "I'm never going to learn this by Monday!" moaned Ron.

"You will," said Hermione, "You're just not concentrating hard enough, maybe you should get some sleep and try again tomorrow."

"You're right," Ron got up, kissed Hermione good night and headed towards the stairs, "Harry?"

"I'll be up in a minute, I'll just practise this a few more times," said Harry, "I think I've finally got it, look," Harry waved his wand, and the piece of fruit jumped up, walked to the edge of the table and… fell off, "Oh, well, I think it needs a bit more practise," he conceded.

"OK, I'll see you in the morning then," said Ron, as he trudged up the stairs to the boys' dormitory

"OK, I'll try it once more, then I'll go to bed too," said Harry, "It's the last Quidditch practise tomorrow before the final against Ravenclaw."

He flicked his wand and the piece of fruit walked to the edge of the table then fell off again and flopped onto the floor beside his feet. He reached down to pick it up at the same time as Hermione did. His hand fell upon hers. They both stopped, then, looked up at each other. They were staring at each other for what seemed like ages, then, slowly, they drew together and kissed. They both knew it was wrong in their minds but in their hearts, it felt so right. Harry felt a warm glow spread through his body as they kissed.

They pulled apart and gazed, deeply into one another's eyes. Suddenly, they heard footsteps, coming downstairs. It was Ron. They quickly tried to occupy themselves, reading spell books.

"Sorry, just forgot my wand," Ron walked up to the table and picked up his wand, "Are you two alright?" He said, "Only you look a bit, well, edgy."

"Who u-us?" stammered Hermione.

"We're fine!" said Harry, "probably just a bit tired."

"OK then, well, see you in the morning," Ron walked towards the staircase, then turned around, "Oh, by the way," He said, "You've got that book upside down, Harry."

Harry looked at the pages, "So I have!" He laughed nervously. 

After Ron had left, they both relaxed again.

"We really shouldn't have done that," Hermione said.

"I know," said Harry, "But it just…"

"Felt so right?" Hermione finished for him.

"Yeah…"

They stared into each other's eyes again for what felt like an eternity. Suddenly, they both realised what they were doing.

"What are we going to do now?" said Hermione, "and what are we going to tell Ron?"

"Ron doesn't have to find out, unless…" Harry trailed off with a hint of suggestion in his voice.

"Unless what?"

"Well, put it this way, we both know that kiss wasn't an accident."

"H-how do you mean?" said Hermione, blushing slightly.

Harry looked straight into her eyes, "I… I love you."

Hermione felt like her heart had melted into a warm liquid and was spreading all through her body. She felt as light as a feather as she stared into those dazzling green eyes of his.

"I love you too," she whispered 

Hermione leaned forward and placed her head on his shoulder, while he wrapped his arms around her.

***

Harry awoke with a start. He raised his head and then realised why he had awoken so suddenly. He was still in the common room and Hermione was beside him, her head resting on the table, still asleep. Harry slid out his hand from under hers and crept towards the staircase, being careful not to wake her.

When he entered the boys' dormitory, Ron was nowhere to be seen. Harry sighed with relief, then suddenly gasped as realization dawned on him

"Oh God! What if he saw Hermione and I, I've got to find him!" Harry exclaimed, to the world in general.

He quickly packed up his Quidditch equipment and Firebolt and raced downstairs, out of the portrait hole and into the Great Hall. He found Ron sitting at the far end of the Gryffindor table, eating breakfast

'Well, he doesn't look upset about anything,' Thought Harry, 'I just hope to heaven he didn't see us last night, or this morning.'

Harry walked up to where Ron was, and seated himself beside him.

"Hi," said Ron, "where were you last night?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I waited for ages and you didn't come up." Ron looked up at Harry with a concerned expression on his face, "Are you alright?" he said.

"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" replied Harry, with a nervous laugh.

"It's just that you look exhausted- Oh, hang on, you've got an apple seed in your hair."

Harry brushed the seed out of his hair absently, "I must have fallen asleep when I was practising that spell last night."

"Hey, where's Hermione?"

"What? Oh, I don't know, maybe she's not up yet," Harry lied.

"Hmm, she's not usually this late getting up," said Ron anxiously, then, continued, "That's a point, Harry. You'd better get going or you'll be late for Quidditch practise."

"You're right! I totally forgot about Quidditch!" Harry picked up his Quidditch equipment and Firebolt and set off for the door at sprinting speed, very nearly injuring several Gryffindors along the way.

***

Later that evening, Harry slumped into a huge chair in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. He needed all the rest he could get after _that_ training session! 

Shortly afterwards, Hermione and Ron joined him by the fire.

"Er, Harry?" said Hermione, "could I have a word?" She gave Harry a meaningful look.

"What about?" asked Ron, puzzled.

"Oh, er…" Hermione began, but was interrupted by Harry, "Just something about your birthday present"

"But my birthday's not until March!"

"We like to plan ahead," said Hermione, smiling.

"Oh, OK then." And with that, Ron got up and headed for the boys' dormitory.

"We need to talk," Hermione took Harry's hand, "But not here, we'll go to the lake."

Harry followed Hermione out of the portrait hole and they made their way down to the lake. They sat, hand in hand, on the grass, staring into the icy water.

"We've got to sort this out," said Harry, turning to look at Hermione.

Hermione looked up at him, "I know," she said, "but what can we do?"

"We've got to tell Ron."

"W-what?"

"It's not fair on him," said Harry, "It's best if he hears the truth now, rather than find out we've been going behind his back."

"You're right," sighed Hermione.

They stared at one another, both, secretly hoping they didn't have to tell Ron, but it was no use. They had to tell him.

"I think we'd better tell him now," said Harry, getting up off the grass and holding a hand out for Hermione.

"I really wish we didn't have to do this," said Hermione, taking Harry's hand and pulling herself up, "it'll break his heart."

"He needs to know the truth."

"I know."

They made their way, slowly, back to the Gryffindor common room.

"I'll go and get Ron," said Harry, walking towards the staircase, "wait here."

Hermione sat beside the fire and waited for Harry to return with Ron. She was beginning to feel nervous, she didn't want to hurt Ron, but what choice did she have? She was in love with Harry and she couldn't keep that from him any longer.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps and Harry appeared at the bottom of the stairs, followed by Ron.

"What's up?" said Ron, looking from Hermione to Harry.

"Er, there's something we need to tell you."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two 

**A/n**** : sorry this chapter took so long, But I had writers block at the weekend (Grr!) and I've been off school today with a cold so sorry if this chapter is a bit bad 'cause I don't really feel that well at the mo anyway on with the story! **

Disclaimer: the start of this chapter (where McGonagall comes in) belongs to fio2 (thanx!) everything else belongs to the fantastic J.K.Rowling except the plot…

    "So, what is it?" asked a puzzled Ron.

    "Well –." Hermione began, but just then the portrait hole opened and Professor McGonagall came in and walked straight over to them.

    "Potter," She said, "You must go to Dumbledore's office immediately, he's got something important to tell you."

     Harry turned to Hermione and gave her an apologetic look, then turned to follow Professor McGonagall out of the common room.

     Hermione turned to face Ron, "I think you'd better sit down," she said, taking a seat herself. Ron sat down opposite her, still looking puzzled.

    "I don't want to tell you this without Harry here, but you need to know."

Ron looked bewildered, "What's wrong?" he said, waiting for her to continue.

    "The truth is… Harry and I are…" Hermione took a deep breath, "are in love."

Ron said nothing and stared down at the floor, his ears going red.

    "W-we thought it would be better to tell you straight away."

    "Oh, and I suppose that makes it alright. Does it?" yelled Ron, jumping to his feet.

    "Of course not!" Hermione got to her feet, too, "We just -."

    "Just thought you'd make a complete fool out of me, right?"

    "No, Ron. Please -."

    "Just - leave me alone!"

    "But-."

    "I _said_ leave me alone!" Ron pushed passed her and walked over to the wall then turned around, "Oh, and I hope you're very happy together!" He sneered, before disappearing through the portrait hole.

(**A/n: at first, instead of 'wall' I put portrait hole but it didn't sound very good saying 'portrait hole' twice in the same sentence, anyway it's not important so on with the story!)**

                                                                                                     ***

     Harry walked silently up to the stone gargoyle, wondering what could be so important, "Fizzing Whizbees." (This was the new password) The gargoyle jumped aside, revealing a golden staircase that spiralled upwards as far as you could see. Harry hopped onto the steps, which took him up to a polished oak door with a brass door- knocker. He stepped off the moving staircase and knocked nervously on the door.

    "Enter," came a muffled voice from the other side of the door. Harry pushed open the great oak doors and walked inside.

    "Ah, Harry," said Dumbledore, looking up from his desk, "take a seat."

Harry sat down in the chair opposite Dumbledore

    "I wanted to see you, Harry," Dumbledore began, "because I have some important news about Sirius, you see -."

    "He's not been caught has he?" Harry blurted out with a sudden worried expression.

    "No, no, he's still in hiding," Reassured Dumbledore, "It's rather more serious than that, I'm afraid. He's planning to go after Voldemort himself. I tried to talk him out of it," he continued quickly, seeing Harry open his mouth to protest, "but he feels it's his job to protect you."

    "Can't you stop him?"

    "Believe me, I have tried numerous times to talk some sense into him, but he's made up his mind and there's nothing we can do, I'm sorry."

     Harry was lost for words, first his parents, now his Godfather? He wasn't going to let this happen, he couldn't. There was only one thing for it…

                                                                                                     ***

     Hermione was sitting by the fire, head in her hands, as Harry climbed into the common room. She looked up with teary eyes, she'd obviously been crying. Harry walked over to her and sat down. 

    "What's up?" He asked. He'd completely forgotten about Ron, as he was so busy thinking about what Dumbledore had told him.

Hermione suddenly looked angry, "What do you mean 'what's up'? I've just told Ron, that's what's up!"

Harry suddenly remembered, "oh…" he said awkwardly, "Sorry, I, er, just- forgot." This certainly wasn't the right response.

    "FORGOT?!" yelled Hermione, her cheeks going red, "how could you just _forget _about something like this?"

Harry looked down at the floor, "It was just something Dumbledore told me, OK," he mumbled, irritably.

    "Oh, and what did he tell you that was more important than this?" Hermione glared at Harry with her arms folded.

    "It's Sirius, if you must know," Harry said quietly, looking away, "He's going after Voldemort."

There was an awkward silence and Hermione shuffled her feet with embarrassment, "I'm…sorry, I- I didn't know…" she said in a small voice.

    "It's OK," Harry sighed, "Anyway, I've made up my mind." He said finally.

    "Made up your mind about…what?"

    "I can't tell you now, I can't tell anyone but you'll all find out soon." Hermione was sure she saw a tear glint in his bright green eyes as he spoke. Just at that moment, someone climbed through the portrait hole. It was Ron. He looked up and saw them together, his ears tinged with red and he quickly headed for the staircase for the boys' dormitory, "Ron wait I-." Harry stood up and walked over to him.

     "What do you want?" Ron said sourly, glaring at him. 

    "Look, we never meant to hurt you-." 

     "Hurt me?" Ron laughed in disbelief, "_Hurt me? _Well, you should have thought of that before, shouldn't you!" Ron pushed Harry hard in the chest and stormed up the stairs. Harry stumbled against the wall and steadied himself. Well, what did he expect? It was no more than he deserved. But everything was a mess, he was about to lose his Godfather (he could hardly defeat the Dark Lord on his own!) and he didn't think he'd be able to cope without Ron. How could he have been so _stupid_ to let this happen? Well, one thing was for certain, he wasn't going to lose anyone else.

    "I'm going to bed," he said to Hermione, before quickly running up the stairs and into the boys' dormitory. He looked over at Ron's bed and saw that the hangings were drawn, but Harry knew he was still awake. He quietly crept over to his bed and opened his suitcase, being careful not to make any noise. He pulled out his invisibility cloak and slid it under his pillow. He had a plan…

     Later that night, Harry lay awake in his bed, waiting. He glanced at his watch (for about the 50th time) it was a quarter to midnight, 'nearly time,' he thought. Fifteen minutes seemed like a lifetime, but eventually midnight came. Harry slid out of bed and pulled the invisibility cloak out from under his pillow. He wrapped the cloak tightly around himself, making sure he was well covered. This was _definitely _not the time to get caught. He silently tip- toed towards the door. Suddenly, there was a loud noise from behind him. Harry nearly jumped out of his skin, but it was only Neville, snoring. Harry sighed with relief and continued down the staircase, into the common room. Once he was outside, he started to make his way, as quietly as possible, down the dark, draughty corridors.

     Somehow he managed to make it to the library, without seeing any sign of Filch or Mrs Norris. He crept along the library shelves, searching. "U…" he muttered to himself, he suddenly noticed the 'V' section, "damn!" he went back to search for the 'U's but couldn't find what he was looking for. A thought struck him. Of course he couldn't find it here! It would be in the restricted area, why didn't he think of that before! Harry stepped over the rope that cut off the restricted area and started searching through all the letters, whilst muttering quietly to himself, "D…E…F…" he carried on for what must have been hours (the library was quite big, after all) "T…aha!" he suddenly looked around, aware that he had just shouted out 'aha!' quite loudly, but obviously no-one had heard. He turned back round to look at the books again and started searching for a specific book…

      After more searching and muttering he finally found what he was looking for. He pulled the dusty, old book out and hid it under his cloak. Satisfied, he stood up, stepped across the dividing rope and headed for the door. His heart sunk, as he heard laughing outside the door and saw a glint of orange. Peeves was outside. He'd obviously heard something and had come along to see what was going on. Forgetting he had the invisibility cloak on, Harry ducked behind some nearby shelves and held his breath, not daring to make a sound. Peeves came floating into the library chuckling something to himself, although Harry was too terrified to hear what it was. Once Peeves had glided past his hiding place, Harry quickly dodged round the corner and hurried back as fast and as quietly as he could. After miles (well, OK maybe not _miles, _but after a lot of running) Harry finally skidded to a halt in front of the portrait of the fat lady. 

    "Sherbet lemon" **(A/n: sorry, couldn't think of a different password!)** Harry said in a loud whisper, in an attempt to wake the fat lady up. It didn't work. Harry kept trying but she obviously didn't want to be woken. In the end Harry had to shout numerous swear words before she paid him any attention.

    "Watch your language!" she snapped. She looked around but couldn't see anybody, "And where exactly are you?" she said suspiciously.

    "Look, that's not important right now" Harry said hurriedly, "Sherbet Lemon!"

The portrait swung open and Harry climbed inside, glad to be in the warmth. He climbed the stairs to the boys' dormitory and pulled off the invisibility cloak. He climbed into bed, drew the hangings around his bed and opened the library book. He started to read through it but he didn't get very far because his eyelids felt like lead and he couldn't stop yawning. He wrapped the book up in his invisibility cloak and packed it deep into his suitcase. He climbed back into bed and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow…

                                                                                                                                                   ***

     A week later, it was nearly the summer holidays and Harry hardly had time for anything what with… one thing and another. He still hadn't told anyone about what he was planning to do and had spent hours at a time practising certain spells in secret. He knew he would have to tell Hermione what he was up to soon, she was starting to get suspicious.

     Ron was still not talking to them, well he had every reason to ignore them, but Harry needed to talk to him before the holidays, or it would probably be too late. He decided he would send Ron an owl before he left, that way he couldn't just ignore it (well, he hoped not). On the last night, Harry thought he'd better take the library book back he had borrowed the week before. He slipped on his invisibility cloak and, with the book hidden under the cloak (along with the rest of him) he crept along the corridors to the library. It took him a while to find where the book should go back, but he found it a lot quicker than last time and he managed to get back to the common room without coming across Peeves, Filch or Mrs Norris (this had to be a record!). 

     The following morning, everyone was up early, packing and getting ready to leave. Harry had packed the night before, so he got up, dressed and went straight down to the Great Hall for breakfast. When he entered the Great Hall, he found Hermione sitting at the far end. He walked over to her and sat down.

    "Er, Hermione?" he said whilst fidgeting with the table- cloth.

    "Hmm?" Hermione replied with her mouth full.

    "There's something I need to tell you before the holidays."

Hermione swallowed what she was chewing and looked up at Harry's face. He suddenly looked very serious. "What is it?" she asked.

    "Well, you know when I said I'd made my mind up about… something? Well the truth is I'm…" He struggled to find the right words, "I'm, er, sort of leaving."

Hermione looked shocked, "_leaving?_" she said, "But, but when? W- _Why_? And what do you mean by '_sort of'?"_

    "Not exactly leaving, I'm going away and I- I might not be back." His voice started to quaver as he finished speaking. 

    "But why?" Hermione repeated.

    "I can't tell you here, we need to go somewhere quiet." Harry stood up and headed for the entrance hall. He turned round, "Hermione?"

Hermione had a dazed look on her face. She realised Harry had spoken and she looked up, "What?" she said.

    "Are you coming?"

   "Oh. Yeah. Sorry," She stood up and walked over to join Harry. They made their way to the entrance Hall and out into the school Grounds. They stopped and Harry turned to face Hermione.

    "If I tell you, do you promise not to try and stop me going?" He said, with a serious expression.

    "Harry, just tell me."

    "OK, well… I- I…When…" Harry's voice became choked. He took a deep breath and tried to continue, "Look, I'll just get straight to the point. I'm going after Voldemort."

    "Harry! You can't! He'll kill you!"

    "I have to, he's killed my parents and I'm not going to let him kill Sirius too! Plus, I've escaped him more times than anybody else ever has! I could be lucky again."

    "But you don't know that!" Hermione face was beginning to stream with tears.

    "Listen, this is something I have to do, don't make this any harder than it already is."

Hermione suddenly flung her arms around him, "Just promise me you'll come back." She said through a choked voice.

    "I promise…"

                                                                                                                                                       ***

**(A/n) well there's the second chapter done! Please R&R! (No flames!) Sorry this chapter took so long!! **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three 

****

**Diclaimer: ****everything belongs to J.K.Rowling except the plot, which belongs to me…**

**A/n: I wrote the ending to this chapter first so I don't yet know how it's going to start off but I'll just see what happens…**

     The students piled onto the Hogwarts Express in Hogsmeade station. Harry found a compartment to himself and settled down in a seat beside the window. As the train set off, Harry rested his chin on the palm of his hand and stared out at the fields beyond. A few minutes later, the compartment door slid open and Hermione came in.

    "There you are!" she said, "I've been looking all over for you." Hermione walked over and sat down beside him, she saw he looked worried, "You'll be OK," she said, taking his hand," You're a great wizard, you know. The best I've ever known in fact," she added with a small smile.

Harry looked up and a smiled slightly, then sighed, "I just hope I get to him before Sirius." He looked away again and stared out of the window, looking worried.

    "Why don't you try talking to Ron before you go?"

    "He's not going to listen to either of us after what we did to him." Said Harry, "I don't blame him, either," he added, half to himself.

    "It's worth a try, and this may be your last chance to see him," Hermione suddenly stopped, aware of what she had just said, "Sorry, I didn't mean… I mean- you're not going to…" Hermione's voice trailed off into silence.

    "I know…" said Harry, "I suppose now is as good a time as any." Harry stood up and sidled past Hermione into the compartment aisle, "wait here," he said, walking towards the door and sliding it open.

     Harry walked through several compartments, searching for Ron. Finally, he found Ron in the last compartment he came across. Ron failed to notice Harry entering, as he was staring out of the window, a glazed look upon his face. The rest of the compartment was empty.

    "Ron?"

Ron jumped at the sound of his name. He looked up and spotted Harry, his expression changed instantly to hurt and disgust.

    "I need to talk to you," Harry said, tentatively, "And I know you don't want to," He added quickly, as Ron opened his mouth, "but this might be the last time I ever see you…" his voice trailed off.

    "What do you mean?" asked Ron, refusing to lighten his expression.

    "Well, I'm… There was something Dumbledore told me and I… I'm going to…" Harry struggled to find words, "I'm…I'm leaving."

    "Well, duh!"

    "I didn't mean that," Harry said quietly, "I meant I'm leaving to go after Voldemort."

Ron flinched at the sound of voldemort's name, "Oh come on," he sneered, "you don't really expect me to believe that? I know what this is Harry, this is just one of your schemes to get me to forgive you and Hermione, well it's not going to happen."

    "What? Ron, I'm being serious!"

    "Yeah, yeah…"

    "It's true! Dumbledore told me Sirius was going after Voldemort, I wasn't going to let him get killed by that, that _thing_ as well as my parents!"

    "How long did it take you to think that story up, then?" 

    "Ron! How many times do I have to tell you! I-am-telling-the-truth!"

    "Look, just go back to Hermione and leave me alone!" Ron folded his arms and stared fixedly out of the window.

    "Well, fine," said Harry, "If that's the way you want it." He turned on his heel and stormed out of the compartment.

A few minutes later, Harry charged into the other compartment that Hermione was waiting in. She looked up, "Er, how did it go?" but she already knew what the answer was.

    "Can you believe it! He actually thought I was lying! _Lying!_" Harry started to pace up and down, "He thought it was one of our little 'schemes' to get him to forgive us!"

Hermione tried to cut in, but Harry didn't appear to notice and continued, "I wouldn't just make something like that up! Well if that idiot won't believe me, that's his problem-"

    "Harry!" 

    "What?" he spat irritably. Hermione looked taken aback and Harry suddenly realised what he'd done, "Oh, sorry," he said quietly, turning slightly pink, "I just got a bit carried away."

    "You've got enough to worry about, I'm sure he believes you but just doesn't want to show it after what we did to him. Let him deal with it in his own time, but meanwhile you've got to concentrate getting through the next few weeks… alive."

                                                                                                                                            ***

     Back at the Dursleys, nothing much had changed. Now that Harry was becoming older and would soon be allowed to use magic once he left school, they were becoming all the more afraid of him. Especially Dudley. This still didn't change the way they treated him. They still acted as though he didn't exist and, although this was an improvement to how they used to treat him, he still felt quite lonely at times, without anyone to talk to. Well, that would all be over soon. If he defeated Voldemort, they would be able to clear Sirius' name and Harry could go and live with him. One thing was for sure. He couldn't see the Dursleys objecting.

     Since the holidays had begun, Harry had sent numerous owls to Ron, explaining about everything that had happened in the past few weeks. But Ron had replied to none of them. If he really does believe me, then why isn't he replying, thought Harry bitterly, as he finished yet another letter to Ron. He rolled up the parchment, took it over to Hedwig and tied it to her leg. She hooted softly and set off, swooping over the trees and disappearing into the distance. The next day, Harry received a letter. This was surely from Ron this time, he thought. He unrolled the parchment excitedly. His expression turned to disappointment as he read Ron's letter, it said,

    'I've had enough and I've already said, I'm not falling for your pathetic story. So just stop sending me letters!'

Harry sat down on his bed. Maybe Hermione was wrong and Ron really didn't believe him. What more did he have to do? He decided to send one last letter to Ron before he left. Even if Ron still didn't believe him, he'd have the chance to say goodbye, if the worst came to the worst.

     On Harry's last day, before he left that night, he decided to write to Hermione and Ron. He walked over to his desk and pulled out two pieces of parchment and a quill. He sat down and started to write,

          Dear Hermione,

     This might be the last letter you'll receive from me, because I'm leaving tonight. I know this isn't a very good way to say goodbye, through a letter, but it's all I can do. I really wish I didn't have to do this, but I do. I'm not going to let that excuse for a life form ruin my life anymore than he has done. I hope you can understand. I want you to know that I really do love you, and I promise, this isn't goodbye forever. I'll be back.

    Love Harry.

 Harry rolled up the parchment and laid it aside. He pulled the next piece of parchment towards him and started to write, this time to Ron,

         Dear Ron,

    I don't know if you believe me yet but I really am telling the truth, I'm leaving tonight to go after Voldemort. I'm really sorry for everything and I never meant to hurt you. You're the best friend I've ever had. Before I came to Hogwarts I'd never had any friends in my life. I really hope you believe me this time because this is probably my last chance to say goodbye. I just hope I make it through these next few weeks alive. And please, don't tell anyone about this, they'd only try and stop me.

  Harry,

PS. Again, I am really sorry for everything that's happened, and if you can't forgive me, then at least forgive Hermione.

                                                                                                                                                 ***

     Later that night Harry lay in bed waiting for his aunt and uncle to go to bed. He was fully dressed but kept his quilt pulled up over him just in case Uncle Vernon came in to check on him before going to bed, probably to make sure he wasn't doing any magic.

     Half an hour later, Harry heard footsteps coming up the stairs and then the creak of his door as uncle Vernon came in to check on him. Harry pretended to be asleep and waited for him to leave. Finally, he heard his door creak as it closed.

     He waited a few moments before climbing out of bed and wrapping his invisibility cloak around him. He grabbed his firebolt and opened the window carefully, then mounted his broomstick and took off into the night. The air was hot and stuffy, Harry felt hot under the invisibility cloak, but couldn't risk taking it off in case someone spotted him. He didn't think anyone would be out at this time of night, but you could never be too careful. As he was flying, he took out a pocket map and unfolded it with one hand whilst holding onto his firebolt with the other. He stopped and hovered in the air for a moment to look at the map.

 Now…Harry thought to himself, If Voldemort was last seen _there_, that means I need to go in _that_ direction… He set off again, folding the map up and slipping it back into his pocket. He flew for several miles before finding somewhere to rest for the night. There was a deserted field and no sign of life for miles around. Harry flew down and landed softly on the grass. He drew out his wand and waved it, producing a small, shabby green tent. Inside it was a lot more spacious and was more like a small flat than a tent. Harry crawled under the flap at the entrance of the tent and set his Firebolt against the wall. He settled down in a small squashy chair and began to drift off to sleep…

     …There was a high, cold laugh and Harry felt a shiver down his spine. His scar burned with white-hot pain and he tried to move but his feet seemed glued to the ground. He tried desperately to get away from the voice but it was no use. He ducked down just in time to avoid a stream of bright green light that went whizzing past his right ear. He twisted frantically to free his feet but they wouldn't budge. The voice was all around now, even colder and sharper than before. Another stream of bright green light came hurtling towards him, and this time, it hit…

      … Harry awoke suddenly in a cold sweat. He was getting used to these dreams. They had become a regular occurrence since he had decided to leave. He sat himself up and waited for the pain in his scar to go, although he knew it would never disappear completely now that he was going after Voldemort. 

     After a while, he scrambled out of the chair, grabbed his wand, firebolt, and cloak, and walked outside into the cool air. With a quick wave of his wand, the tent vanished. He mounted his broomstick, wrapped the invisibility cloak tightly around him and pocketed his wand. He kicked off hard from the ground and rose high into the air. He hovered for a moment to tighten his grip on the cloak, and set off. The air was, once again, stiflingly hot and there wasn't the slightest trace of a breeze anywhere. In a way no wind was a good thing, because he didn't have to worry about keeping hold of the invisibility cloak too much.

     Later on that evening, when it was just getting dark, Harry arrived at his destination: Albania. He was tired, cold and hungry. He dismounted his broomstick and took off the invisibility cloak, after checking that no one was around. After half an hour or so of searching, he finally found a place to rest for the night. He set up the old green tent he'd used the previous night and once again covered it with the cloak. He climbed inside and fell asleep almost instantly.

     Morning came quickly. Much quicker than Harry had expected and after a refreshing breakfast Harry set out again, this time in search of Voldemort.

    It wasn't long before Harry came across a clearing in the trees. He kept well hidden in the shadows. He could see a circle of death eaters and Voldemort pacing up and down in the middle. After a while Harry peered round a tree and watched in silence as Voldemort dismissed the death eaters. As they disapparated one by one Harry was becoming more and more afraid. He took several deep breaths and when the last death eater had disapparated Harry carefully put down his Firebolt and cloak and stepped out from behind the tree. He felt extremely nervous but refused to show it in front of Voldemort.

    "Well, well," came a cold, sneering voice, as Voldemort turned to face Harry, "we meet again." Harry stayed silent.

    "I assume you're here for a re-match?"

    "As a matter-of-fact I am," said Harry, still not showing his fear. 

Voldemort laughed icily, "My dear boy," he said, shaking his head, "You really believe that you have the strength or the power to defeat _me_? Well," he continued, "Let me tell you this, all these times you've escaped me it has all been just pure luck, Harry. Why not give in now? And I may even make this painless for you, but I cannot be sure, I have never died."

    "Never," Spat Harry, "I'm not afraid of you."

    "Then we shall duel. And I assure you Harry, you will not be so lucky this time."

Voldemort stepped back and raised his wand, his eyes cold and stern. Harry walked forward and stopped dead opposite Voldemort. Before Harry could get his wand out he'd been hit by the Crucio curse. He fell to the floor writhing in agony. Through the pain he could hear Voldemort's high, cold laugh. Finally the pain eased and he was able to get out his wand and scramble to his feet. He shot several curses at Voldemort but none of them had any effect. Finally he decided to try out the curse he'd spent so long practising: The Avada Kedavra curse. Before he had time to think, Voldemort had shouted the curse before him but his voice was strange, as if someone else had shouted it at the same time. There was a blinding flash of green light and the curse hit. Harry fought furiously to stay awake but it was no use, and he slid out of consciousness…

**A/n: Will Harry survive?? You'll have to wait and see! Please R&R! (No Flames!) Chapter 4 will be up VERY soon as it's already written but I have to wait a while or there's no point in ending this chapter with a cliff-hanger!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

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 (A/n): Sorry this chapter is so short but it's sort of a link-up from chapters 3 to 5, chapter 5 will be longer I promise!

Disclaimer: All the characters belong to JKRowling, the plot belongs to me (as you probably know by now)    

 Harry opened his eyes. He found he wasn't lying down anymore, nor was he on the grass. He was standing in a magnificent white corridor and looking around he noticed the walls looked strange and misty almost as if they were made out of clouds. He reached out a hand to touch the wall but to his amazement found white mist curling round his fingertips. He pulled his hand back and then cautiously leaned forward until the top half of his body was through the wall (if that's what it was). He could feel warm air on his face from below. He looked down curiously and suddenly wished he hadn't done so. His face turned almost whiter than the walls and he pulled himself back into the corridor in fear of vomiting. He took several deep breaths and closed his eyes, trying to shake off the images he'd just seen. After a while, he started looking around again. Behind him stood an enormous black door in the shape of an arch.

    'That doesn't look like the right way,' Harry thought to himself. He then turned back round and in front of him was a dazzlingly bright light. Harry's mouth fell open in amazement. The light was golden, warm and welcoming and it was shimmering round the edges. The only word Harry could find to describe the light was "Beautiful." He silently walked slowly towards it, hypnotised by the shimmering gold. He stopped in front of it and slowly held up his hand to touch it.

    "Harry!" The voice was barely louder than a whisper, yet it seemed as if someone had shouted. Harry spun round to see where the voice had come from. There was no one there.

    "Harry!" He heard the voice again, louder this time but still distant and far-off. He tried shouting,

    "Hello?" No reply. He tried again, "Who's there? Can you hear me?" still no reply came. Perhaps he'd imagined it? No, he couldn't have. It seemed so real. The voice suddenly came again,

    "Harry! Can you hear me?" The voice seemed strangely familiar to Harry and oddly it was coming from behind the big black door. Harry started to run towards it, but then stopped when he heard another voice calling him from the golden light. The voice was sweet and warm but he didn't recognise it. He was torn between the two. He had to go one way or the other, but which way? He had an idea. He put his hand into his trouser pocket, searching for something.

    "Aha!" He said aloud, pulling out an old Muggle coin, "Right, heads, I go to the light. Tales, the black door."

 He tossed the coin high in the air. It tumbled down again and landed noisily on the hard, polished floor beside his feet. Harry looked down, and swallowed. It was tales. He looked up at the black door, which seemed to grow ever darker as he stared at it. When he reached the door, Harry turned the handle and opened it. There was nothing but blackness. He took a deep breath and stepped through the door into the darkness. There was a creaking noise and the great black door slammed shut behind him.

 **(A/n): Well there you are! Chapter 4 up! Only 1 chapter to go! Please R&R, no flames! Oh and if anyone has any suggestions for a title, please suggest some!**


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